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Originally Posted by skyscraper
I'll say at the outset that I have never contributed any information to Emporis, but I have heard this about them not paying their contributors from more than one person. I think the person in charge of the Philadelphia pages is the most notorious for this, but I have heard it for other cities as well.
Inga is the Simon Cowell of architecture critics: unqualified to make any judgements, but the ones she does make she makes unnecessarily negative (at least when it comes to Philadelphia buildings. New York buildings, different story) because she thinks that makes it look like she's doing her job.
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I read Inga Saffron's blog and I really can't think of many other architecture and city writers who are on that level (Paul Golderberger comes to mind). Philadelphia is lucky to have her.
There's a problem in forum's like this with people like myself. We come across as snobbish and elitist. We love cities more than tall building. In other words we want the best architecture, best planning, best preservation, and best outcomes. It's not just in your city, either. It's every city.
Philadelphia is already a great city and can afford to put up dreck like Symphony House. Still, you want to do better. You want to compete with New York, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago. If you're competing with Atlanta, Dallas and Houston, you're missing the point. You aspire upward, not sideways.
I live in Phoenix, which has a rivalry with Philadelphia because of population numbers. We're a young city, sprawling and incoherent. The sorry truth is that we're not even as good a city as Jacksonville. Philadelphia is as good as Phoenix is hopeless.
At any rate, I read these threads because I root for Philly. I want the new projects to make your city denser, livelier, and more prosperous. I also want to see great architecture, not just tall for the sake of tall. My advice is don't settle for mediocre. Yeah, I'm a snob, but I love your city.